Since its launch in late 2019, I’ve struggled to wrap my arms around what, exactly, Apple TV+ is. Of course it’s the TV and streaming hub for one of the 10 biggest companies in the world, but its general lack of promotion has always confused me. Sometimes I’ll see a poster for a new show on Apple and wonder if it’s real or a screenshot from an SNL bit or something. But once you actually turn the service on, you tend to see big stars, simple concepts, and huge budgets. Apple shows like Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Presumed Innocent, and The Studio have managed to bring audience eyeballs and award season success to the tech giant, and their slate for fall 2025 looks promising as well.
**The show I’m most excited for is Pluribus, a science fiction series from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan starring Rhea Seahorn, who stole many hearts including my own as Kim Wexler in the incredible Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. Details are scarce, but the show is set to premiere on November 7th, and Gilligan and Seahorn are more than enough to sell me on a new project.
Before then, though, Apple TV+ will premiere The Savant starring Oscar-winning actress Jessica Chastain about a digital interruptor who seeks to infiltrate hate groups on the internet to prevent public attacks. The crime thriller comes from Melissa James Gibson, a playwright with experience writing for The Americans and House of Cards.
On October 10, Apple will launch The Last Frontier, which stars Jason Clarke in a thriller about a U.S. Marshall in the remote wilderness of Alaska. This fall, Apple will also stream Mr. Scorsese, a documentary series about Martin Scorsese, and Down Cemetery Road, an adaptation of the thriller novel of the same name starring Ruth Wilson and Emma Thompson.
Will all of these shows be good? Who’s to say? But true to the Apple TV+ formula, they promise huge names in familiar situations, and that’s enough for me to at least check out what they’re cooking over there at the computer company.
What’s especially interesting about season two of the show is that season one occurred in the previous DCEU. To pivot the show into our new DCU universe, season two had to make a brief correction to its canon in the “previously on” at the beginning of its first episode. Instead of the old Snyderverse Justice League showing up for a cameo, season two of Peacemaker switched them out for the new DCU Justice Gang. And just like that, Peacemaker is now in the continuity of the Superman movie.
Though I don’t think anything that happens in Peacemaker is ultimately going to matter too much for the theater-made film entries, fans of the DCU who are game for a low-brow sensibility action comedy with a lot of heart will find plenty of universe details to revel in. But the show is also worth watching on its own merits. Cena turns in a hilarious and surprisingly-moving-at-times performance as Peacemaker, and he’s surrounded by a tremendously fun cast that includes Jennifer Holland, Danielle Brooks, and Freddie Stroma.
Peacemaker is streaming on HBO Max.
Leave a Reply